Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1887-11-26
THE OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES REcoRp.

a railroad company to adjust its land
grant according to law-the only hon.
est thing he permitted himself to un-
dertake while in ofice-an examine
ton of the effects of his policy" upon
individual settlers on agricultural lands
will show the consequences of the ere
form" measures which the Cleveland ad-
minlstration now "points to with PRIDE"
The INTER-ocEAN has freqently said
that these so-called reforms" have
cost h epeople of North Dakota a MIL
ion Of dollars. Let us see what the rec
ord shows. 1t is doubtless true that
fully one-half the settlers exercising
their. rights under the land laws have
been called upon by Mr.. Cleveland's Z
land commissioner for various kinds Of
technical evidence never called for or
required by any Of Mr.. Sparks prede.
cessors. All this technical evidence has
been required under the Cleveland.
Sparks "reform policy' after the set
tier had proven his right to receive from
and had been given by the local land
o&cers-the governments authorized
agents-what is known as a RECEIVERS
receipt; after he had himself sworn to
facts which convinced the local land
officers that bis compliance with the
law was full and complete; and after
two reputable witnesses had corrobora-
ted, under oath, the settlers testimony.
The receivers receipt is the settlers in.
strument Of title, and has been held by
some Of the higher courts to be equiv
alent to a patent. The local land Off
GERS are the judges sent out by the gov.
ernmsnt to pass upon the evidence
submitted by the settler. They are
governed, In taking this evidence. by
the rules laid down by the interior de-
partment and by the land laws under
which the settler is exercising mis-
rights. The whole system IS closely
hedged in by every safeguard against
fraud that could be thrown about it by
legislative wisdom and forethought. 1,
is conceded to be freer from flaws and
far less liable to wrong interpretation
than any other system now employed
in the management Of governmental
affairs, and under 1t the possibility OF
fraud and wrong doing is completely
removed unless there is rank perjury on
the part Of settlers and their witnesses
or fragrant connivance at fraud on the
part of local land officers. That the
land laws have been used for dishonest
purposes is notdenied, but that they are
systematically misused by the agricul'
tural classes to the extent claimed BY
Mr.. Cleveland's ex-land commissioner
has not been shown and cannot be
shown. Nine-tenths of the cases Of
fraud which have occurred under these
laws are confined to the pine and mln,
eral regions, with a large percentage
along the land grant railroads; and j
is equally true hat the genuine cul
prits have escaped the operations O.
Mr.. Sparks reform policy" and thai
his first attempt to apply 1t where it
application was sorely needed cost Inn
his official head.
1t is IL we'll known fact that whe,
Sparks Went into the general land Office
he outlined his policy by charging tina
95 per CEN Of the land entries that had
been made were fraudulent. Accordin,
to Sparks this percentage Of fraud wa.
not confined to any particular region o.
to any particular lands 1t include.
agricultural as we'll AS pine, minera
and railroads lands. We Of Dakot,
know that the percentage oftraud in thu
agricultural regions is very small
The evidence is before lis. We Cal
see the houses and improvements mad,
by the settlers, being personally &C
quainted with many Of them, and arr
conscious of the great wrong that thu
administration has inflicted upon in
nocent men. We know that thousand
of honest tillers OF the soil stand con
victed before the world out of tn
mouth of a single person sitting upol
his official perch 1000 miles away ant
viewing the field of fraud through gold
bowed eyeglasses. 1t is a method o
conviction the settlers have never hear'
!, Of before. The punishment is equal,
!, novel. Confiscation Of the lands whicl
) authorized agents of the government
, have practically decided to them is tn
penalty. The only alternative is
form Of appeal, in which the settle
simply becomes a poor, weak plaintiff
against a strong, rich and arrogant de
, PENDANT. Thus the accuse forces tn
accused to sume the offensive in
battle against an enemy whose work
, are almost im%pregnable. All that ha
, saved the settlers from total annihilatio
, has been the interference of Secretar
Lamor, whose knowledge Of the law Hi
, his oath Of Office compelled him to com
, to the relief of the victims of the Cleve
land-Sparks %"policy."
Let us take a brief view at the field c
carnage. AS we have already stated
r fully one half the entries of agriculture
land in this revi0n have haon hald fl